In the U.S., burial of the body of the deceased is still the method most widely practiced, a costly and environmentally detrimental practice. Burials can easily costs upwards of $10,000.00 plus, when one considers the casket, plot, service, memorial marker, and such. Accordingly, cremation has become more popular over the years, but among many there is a perception that there exists only limited alternatives for memorialization of cremated remains, such as keeping same in an urn, or scattering same in a ceremony.
While there exists a plethora of patents on apparatus and/or method for alternative disposal of cremated remains, including urns having viewing ports, planters, panel boxes, jewelry, building niches, and storage containers, none are believed to system of the present invention, which is believed to provide a refreshing alternative to prior art systems.
A list of patents which may have some pertinence to the present invention include:
Pat. No. Inventor Date of Issue 1474424 Marey 11/20/1923 2562726 MacDonald 07/31/1951 3925944 Pickel 12/16/1975 3991931 McMaster 11/16/1976 5207957 Hereford 05/11/1993 5230127 Zukowski et al 07/27/1993 5275871 Hambright 01/04/1994 5625933 Neuberger et al 05/06/1997 5755116 Sparacino 05/26/1998 5815897 Longstreth 10/06/1998 5873375 Johnson 02/23/1999 5875528 Parker 03/02/1999 D 169,347 Woodward 04/14/1953
As one may discern from a review of the prior art, there are many patents teaching diverse methods of keeping cremated remains, including, such traditional method as urns, as well as planters (U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,897) panel boxes (U.S. Pat. No.5,230,127), jewelry (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,755,116 and 5,208,957), chests (U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,931), as well as building niches U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,944.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,933 issued 1997 for a "Storage Container and Display for Cremated Remains", which includes not only the remains, but can include a decorative image formed thereon, "such as by silk screening, etching or embossing" displayed in conjunction with the remains. (Col 3, lines 30-35).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,528 teaches a "Cremation Urn" which includes a three dimensional artwork formed in LUCITE or other transparent substance, and a chamber formed in the transparent substance for later deposit of cremated remains, to provide an alternative to the traditional urn.
While none of the prior art was found teaching the method of the present invention, the practice of applying an adhesive and then applying a granular or other substance to the adhesive to enhance an artwork has been contemplated in other forms. For Example, it is known that one may apply glitter to glue while it is still wet, in order to facilitate sticking of the glue to a substrate, which may be in the form of an artistic rendering, such as is done by grade school children. For other examples of patents which contemplate the use of adhesives to bond granular substances to an substrate, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,873,375, or 5,275,871. Also, it would appear that there are other, non-patent references available teaching the technique of glitter applied to wet glue, as in making artistic sweatshirts and children's art.